Skyland,
North Carolina (July 19, 2015) – For only the second time in
2015 the weather cooperated and allowed for some intense short track
racing at a couple of Pennsylvania’s finest asphalt facilities.The end result was a first-time Super Cup Stock Car Series
winner and a rookie competitor setting the precedent as the driver
to beat heading into the final races of the season.

Dan Bainey picked
up where he left off two months ago at CNB Bank Raceway Park by
claiming a new series track record of 19.092 seconds in qualifying
at Motordrome Speedway on Friday night.He would draw the outside pole with CNB May runner up Harvey
Harrison starting from the inside.Harrison would lead the first few circuits before Bainey
would get by and set the pace for the first half of the 75 lap race.

Things would change
on lap 41 when the No. 00 DelGrosso Foods / Rock & Ruthless
Tattoo Parlor Ford of Bainey became noticeably ill-handling,
allowing Harvey Harrison to get by for the lead.Harrison would have a new challenger very quickly as Denver,
North Carolina’s Mike Kurkowski and the Renick, West Virginia
veteran would duel for the lead over the closing laps.

Bainey’s
issue turned out to be a flat right rear tire; however, the way the
cautions fell in the second half of the race, the rookie driver was
able to march through the field and be in contention for the win.

The final laps
turned out to be an all-out battle for the victory between the three
drivers that came down to the wire with Kurkowski holding off
Harrison and Bainey for his first career Super Cup Stock Car Series
victory.

“It was a tough
race,” a jubilant Kurkowski said.“I was just biding my time running along behind Harvey
there.I saw Dan start
backing up and I was thinking this is pretty cool.Harvey started slipping and sliding.Thought this was even cooler.We got to race a bunch.The
restart made it interesting.Harvey
was better on cold tires; I was better on hot tires so that made it
good.”

This was a
different car than what Kurkowski brought to CNB back in May. The
No. 1 ShoTime Motorsports Ford he fielded at Motordrome has quite a
successful history to it.

“This particular
car Mardy Lindley drove for me in the Pro Cup Series in 2006, I
believe,” Kurkowski recalled.“I took it apart, redid it, and brought it back out here.It always was a good racecar.All day long I had been thinking that this car needs some
work.It could be
faster.I’ve got the
parts in the trailer.I
just didn’t have the help today or the time.I left at 5 a.m. to get here.”

Brent Nelson
finished a solid fourth while Indiana driver Tim McLaughlin achieved
a best career fifth on Friday night in his return to the series.

Saturday
at CNB Bank Raceway Park in Clearfield, Pennsylvania started off
noticeably with Friday’s winner surprisingly absent, leaving the
window for victory wide open.Bainey
again grabbed the pole award only 0.19 seconds faster than
Harvey’s son Brian Harrison.

The first lap of
the Window World 75 presented by CoolShirt turned nearly disastrous.Harvey jumped out to the front initially, but Brian came back
on the inside.McLaughlin
started third and with a huge run out of turn four to complete lap
one got into the back of Brian, sending Brian’s No. 15
CoalFacts.org Chevrolet around in front of the field.Nelson would also spin to avoid contact and miraculously not
one car in the field had any significant damage.

As the race went
on, the summer sun was extremely tough on equipment with several
competitors suffering overheating issues and McLaughlin’s No. 21
Don Gnat Racing Chevrolet eventually being sidelined with a rear end
problem.Up front it was
2015’s top performers battling for the win with Harvey Harrison
leading the first half of the race in his No. 51 Southern Coal
Corporation Chevrolet.

Nelson would make a
bid for the top spot on a few occasions but catching them fast was
Bainey, who started the race in sixth after the redraw.After the flagman signified the halfway point, Bainey used
the high line to power by both competitors for the lead and would
never look back.It was
his second victory of his career, the season, and at his home track
CNB Bank Raceway Park.

“We rode behind
them for a while and kind of watched where they were good and where
we were better,” Bainey recapped after the skies opened up
following post-race interviews.“I thought Brent was going to get him a couple times, but
Harvey, he’s got a motor.Every
time you would get under him, Harvey would come back.I saw him come down and I had a run so I dove in on the
outside and it stuck, got back in it and drag raced down the back
straightaway.”

For
Nelson and his No. 80 Berg Construction / Atkinson Welding Chevrolet
team, it was a successful weekend with two top five finishes. Nevertheless,
the Petersburg, West Virginia driver admitted that he and the
competition will have some work to do to catch Bainey for the
championship.

“All in all, with
a second place finish we’ll count it as a win,” Nelson said“I’m going to tell you, I don’t know if many people are
going to have much for the 00, but we’re going to run him hard
every week we get the opportunity.”

Brian Harrison
finished third after falling out of the race the night before with
wheel bearing issues.Series
official and former Super Cup driver Neil Gacom went home to Ohio
overnight and returned with some spare parts necessary to help Brian
get where he needed to be to take the green on Saturday.

On the last restart
Harvey Harrison slipped to fourth, but was in good spirits following
the grueling race.

“I needed to be
on the outside, but hey, I’ve won my share of races,” Harrison
mentioned.“We’re
here to have fun and we’ll get them next time.”

Maryland driver Rob
Hindt survived to round out the top five earning his best finish in
only his second career start in his No. 05 On Track Racing
Experience Chevrolet.

The series now
moves on to Midvale Speedway in Ohio, a track points leader Dan
Bainey has never seen.He
will have a number of competitors looking to turn around their
season for the better and get win number one of 2015 when the series
heads to the 3/10-mile on Saturday, August 8.